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Small Arms and Equipment
The Forge is lagging slightly in weaponry, as they have not had a full on war for almost a thousand years. However, they have done what they can with what they have. Railguns, plasma cannons, ramjets and missile launchers are the staple, and don't even represent the most advanced projectile weapons the Forge can produce. Rifles AR40X10 Combat Rifle: as advanced as a standard weapon can be, they must also be affordable and simple enough to not only be mass-produced, but also easy to use in the field. This simple 6.8x43mm assault weapon produced by Wolfe Industries is capable of spraying an enemy down with a spray of lead, and thanks to the durable frame and simple mechanism, it is more than capable of withstanding the elements of the battlefield. It's forty round magazine ensures that once a soldier starts firing, for keep firing for a long while, accurate even on automatic. These rifles are so reliable and simple, however, that they have been found in the hands of krogan looters, more than eager to turn captured weapons on their foes. They are typically fitted with a Bren EOTech Target Finder holographic sight, which uses a short range scanner to look over genetic profile, worn uniform, IFF tags and many other identifiers to show enemies and friendlies, improving battlefield performance, though the rail can accomodate a number of different combat optics and tools. - M72 Argus Carbine: when the Forge first formed, they tried to equip their forces with readily available weapons. The Argus was already in use by several nation-states and mercenary groups, packing a 5mm hypershock round in a standard thirty round magazine. Unfortunately, when first fielded it was realized that the Argus was severely lacking in stopping power against heavy infantry like the krogan, and after several disastrous battles the weapons was almost instantly dropped from military service. It has instead been picked up by law enforcement and private security, where it continues to faithfully serve against the targets it was meant for; humans. The Argus is an all-purpose rifle produced by LarsCorp, meant to do what any other weapon of similar size could. It is short-barreled, allowing it to be utilized in close-quarters, and its rifle round allows an extreme level of accuracy at range, and its rapid fire nature makes it simple to use. The mechanism is slightly overcomplicated, but is seen as a small price to pay for an otherwise satisfactory weapon. - AR44X2C Carbine: after the Argus failed in its application against the krogan, the AR40 was implemented to astounding effects, punching holes in flesh and armor, depending on the ammunition loaded. The 6.8mm round was dependable, hard-hitting and adaptable to many environments, proving to be one of the best intermediate rounds ever fielded. But the problem with the rifle was length. While relatively compact, the AR40 was still a weapon for distance, and that required a longer barrel. While this translated into greater muzzle velocity, it left Forge soldiers at a slight disadvantage in close-quarters and shipboard combat, where the long barrel would get in the way. Rather than ride out their success and then release a new weapon, Wolfe Industries immediately forsaw this issue and made a carbine version to be paired up with the AR40. Known as the AR44X2C combat carbine or simply the AR44, this rifle delivers the same accuracy and hard hitting reliability as the AR40 but in a stripped down, compact form. Its stunted stock allows for faster target lineup, and the short barrel allows a soldier to swiftly turn a corner down a cramped hallway with plenty of elbow room. As an added bonus, it can use all the same attachments as the AR40, but this all comes with a price; the same 6.8mm bullet being fired from a shorter barrel means the round is only accurate and effective at 2/3 the range. This typically means that combat scopes are not recommended, as most combat with this weapon is expected to take place up close and personal. - AR55HB Battle Rifle: the newest development in the AR line, the AR55 is Wolfe Industries competitor rifle to fight against Holt's K6, giving FDI a high-caliber, stopping power rifle. Firing a 9.1x43mm SAP (Semi-Armor Piercing) round, Wolfe purposefully tooled the rifle for accuracy. To that end, the AR55 lacks an automatic fire option, stuck with a single shot and triple round fire mode. While Wolfe secretly hoped the Forge would implement the AR55 as their new primary marksman rifle, competitions against the M-18 proved that the older 7.92 weapon was still more accurate at a longer range. As such, the Defense Force prefers the old DMR, but the BR55 has found a home in the Marine Corps, where their fireteams prefer something that can engage closer targets without loss of performance. The rifle shares many of the same design principles as both the AR40 and AR44, but thanks to the larger round it has a smaller ammunition capacity of 30 rounds. It's high impact nature is supposed to mitigate the need for more rounds fired, and already several units in both the Marine Corps and Defense Force are experimenting with it as a standard rifle, though it has yet to find a cemented place in FDI's arsenal. - K6 Krukov Assault Rifle: a common assault rifle produced by Holt Industries, the K6 lost out on its chance for a contract with FDI when word got back that Holt had been selling these rifles in bulk to mercenaries, criminals and many others who simply had the money afford it. Regardless, Holt made a killing on these cheap, simple weapons by producing them in bulk and selling them dirt cheap. Reliable and durable, the K6 uses a high-powered 9.5mm round which, while decreasing overall accuracy, produes greater stopping power than the AR40, giving it great appeal to simple types who couldn't be bothered with things like marksmanship and center of mass shooting. It uses a thirty round magazine in a bullpup configuration to enhance its power even more, and is popular among militias, mercenaries and criminal types. - M-18 Designated Marksman Rifle: this LarsCorp rifle is neither sniper weapon nor assault gun. Instead, it is an amalgamation of the two, an accurate weapon that also has advanced recoil-suppression technology to help control the vicious kick made by the 7.92mm rounds the M-18 uses when fired quickly. Squad-level marksmen and other specialists like to use this rifle as a stopgap between the AR40 and the McManus, as assault rifles are mostly medium range and sniper rifles are too bulky to keep on the move. The hard-hitting rounds and tooled accuracy are a perfect combination for this duty, and several proposed variants that fire multiple rounds have been discarded in favor of the reliability of this weapon. For now, the M-18 is staying in its current form. '-' AR50 XMAC Battle Rifle: the latest and most advanced rifle in the FDI arsenal is the AR-50, a high-caliber 12mm ramjet rifle capable of spewing out caseless rounds at a staggering rate of fire. These 'bolts' are loaded with a small explosive payload, capable of blowing infantry to bits and slamming through thick armor. As if this weren't enough, the rifle sports a rail under the barrel, normally occupied by an advanced and compact railgun capable of firing a ball of solid plasma, which wreaks havoc on electrical systems. The weight and recoil of this weapon is so great that only Shock Troopers in full Juggernaut powered armor are capable of wielding it with any degree of effectiveness. The fifty round magazine empties rather quickly, and all Shock Troopers carry more than an ample amount of reloads (the idea of a belt-loaded system being too clumsy and unwieldy even in armor). - AR200 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW): '''sometimes referred to as the 'Ogre' the AR200 fires the same 6.8mm round as the AR40, due to its constant use by Defender heavy infantry. With a one-hundred round box magazine, the AR200 can keep shooting for a while once it starts, and can also be used with belts of ammunition for a constant stream of fire. Using recoil-absorbant technologies, this hefty weapon can be fired from the shoulder just as easily as the AR40, though the weight is something of a challenge to keep steady. As well as Defenders, other infantry use this as a stopgap machine gun to defend with, deploying the bipod and laying down a curtain of bullets. Though it does not happen often, the AR200 is sometimes fitted with more advanced optics, such as the AGR-14 Assault Scope, giving the weapon a longer range out. - '''Mk. 15 McManus Sniper Rifle: this high-caliber sniper rifle uses the same 12.7x104mm round as the Wolverine heavy machine gun, allowing ease of logistics into warzones. Produced by famous arms manufacturer LarsCorp, this rifle is tooled for accuracy. The rifle is fully collapsible and comes in a stately black attache. The 18"cryogenically treated stainless steel bull barrel gives this rifle a guarenteed accuracy of .2 minute of angle at 600 yards with match grade ammunition. With its hand reamed chamber and match grade trigger, the McManus is designed to reach out and "touch someone" at a moment's notice...or so the LarsCorp executive shpiel goes. - HI V2 Stanchion Gauss Rifle: when it comes to material penetration and high-powered long-range marksmanship, there is nothing that does the job better than the Stanchion, easily one of the most advanced pieces of technology the Forge possesses. The smallest railgun that Holt Industries can produce, it fires slugs of high-density alloys, such as tungsten carbide and depleted uranium, at velocities up to eight times the speed of sound. Developed by Holt Industries Electromagnetic Research Division, the rifle supersedes previous generations of .50cal sniper rifles, combining increased power and muzzle velocity with reduced recoil. Its unrivaled muzzle velocity provides a greater range, less bullet drop and less wind drift than its nearest rivals, bypassing the inherent cost and physical limitations of conventional firearms. The Stanchion was developed from larger railcannon technology, using magnetic fields to hyper-accelerate projectiles to unprecedented speeds. Powered by a new 8-mega-joule prototype capacitor bank using solid-state switches and high-energy-density capacitors, the rifle’s stopping power is unmatched. Handguns NR4 10mm Service Pistol: though virtually worthless against krogan, the NR4 is more than capable against lighter creatures, such as the humans it was originally designed for. The NR4 was originally designed before the Krogan Wars, and many law enforcement officers and military personnel paid the price when their bullets failed to put down krogan warriors. However, even after they were mostly replaced by the GDHC .50 the NR4 was related around to INTERPOL, who found that the military magnum was overkill to bring down humans. Instead, every officer can be found with this in their holster along with several 12 round magazines in their belt. It is accurate, impactful and when needed can be non-lethal if a bullet lands in the right place. It can also be found in use by FDI soldiers thanks to its accuracy and ability to split grunt and varren heads. The underworld prefers not to use it, however, for every NR4 in a criminal's hands is thought to have gotten there by cop killers since its use in the civilian market is severely restricted. Thus, every smuggler, pirate or ganster using one of these pistols and caught by INTERPOL is executed on the spot. - - Vice 9 Automatic: an old, bulky pre-War handgun, the Vice 9 was originally produced as a home defense weapon, but the sheer number of them made by Wolfe Industries saw them become commonplace in the criminal elements of the Eridanus system. It is chambered in an older .45 caliber round (slightly less accurate than the 10mm in the NR4) that, while short ranged and innaccurate, is available in plenty due to the number of .45 weapons in the Eridanus system. Once it was dropped from service in use of Wolfe's security force, they were cheap and numerous enough to be easily picked up by organized crime, and turned to use on the streets. Low end mercenaries and militia also use them, and they are infamous with pirate gangs for their ability to be fired easily one handed. It normally uses an eight round magazine, though Wolfe has recently released a new extended clip to allow four more rounds for almost the same size, and this new modification is becoming wildly popular. - Holt 55 Autopistol: the Holt was originally designed as a rapid-fire pistol that could fit into the same holster as a handgun, firing special purpose 7.5mm rounds designed to punch through body armor, tearing internal organs to shreds. It uses a fifteen round magazine, allowing the operator to lay down a quick barrage of fire without being overly bulky. Thanks to this, the INTERPOL Undercover officers who normally use these can hide them in their disguises. They are also extremely popular with private security groups, who can use these weapons identified as their sidearms with extended magazines, effectively turning them into submachine guns, a technicality that has yet to be looked into...and probably won't be. - - GDHC .50 Magnum: though a predescessor was already in use when the krogan invaded, the .50 caliber round was recoil heavy, inaccurate and relatively difficult to carry. But when a new sidearm was needed for FDI, they needed to design something better than the Nightingale. Thus, the GDHC was born in the war's third year, specced from the ground up for military service. Accurate, hard hitting and simple to handle (so long as the firer uses both hands) the GDHC can be fitted with a variety of scopes, sights and compensators. This pistol fires thumb-sized armor-piercing, mercury core rounds that laugh at body armor and splatter internal organs all over the back wall. - Shepherd .44 Revolver: '''the Shepherd is not officially adopted by FDI, but somehow finds its way into the hands of military officers who appreciate its immense stopping power and reliability. They are more common with INTERPOL officers and criminal enforcers, for the same reasons. The break-action revolver can be opened quickly, ejecting the empty .44 magnum shells to be replaced by a speedloader (or, with the proper modifications, the entire cylinder). However, the long barrel and heft weight make it difficult to control, and the recoil is hard enough to injure the firer's wrist (that doesn't stop many self-acclaimed gunslingers from having one on each hip). Personal Defense Weapons '''AS-14 Hammer Combat Shotgun: chambered in 10 gauge, the Hammer has a high rate of fire coupled with a large 12 round magazine to make this automatic shotgun a stellar hard-hitter in close quarters combat. A quick kick and the door is open, and jamming the trigger down will spray the room with buckshot. Veterans love these weapons and have been known to tape magazines together to cut down on reload time. The long barrel and tight choke allows this shotgun to kill effectively even at medium range, competing even with some rifles. There is no dispute that this is the best shotgun in known space. Jackal Arms Industries has made a killing on the miltiary contract, though they also sell to private parties, such as mercenaries and even the wealthier criminal groups. - - TCS-21 Tombstone Shotgun: a reliable, if old-fashioned design, the Tombstone was designed for urban combat and breaking down doors, but the huge weapon proved so useful that it was soon being used in any situation. Loaded with buckshot, it can clear a hallway in a single pull of the trigger or knock down a crazed krogan in a single roaring blast. Loaded with slugs, it will punch holes in light body armour or tear apart unarmoured vehicles. There are even saboted slugs which are effective over longer distances. Apart from these, there are also a number of specialised rounds, from tear gas shells and rubber slugs to breaching rounds designed to blow open doors while minimising collateral damage. Thanks to its reliability and relatively low price, these are loved by both law enforcemet officers and criminal elements, and sometimes these guns can change sides a dozen times every month during a gang war. Though not common, the Tombstone can also be found in FDI hands. - Deacon-12 Shotgun: hunting, while common everywhere, is especially popular on three of the worlds in Eridanus. I, II and V, all of which have game that are quite capable of killing the hunter. To make up for this, many companies that produced hunting arms made upsized versions of them, extremely powerful and capable of blasting a man flat on his ass. While this is not to say that civilian weapons are superior to military ones (indeed some of the strongest hunting weapons are notoriously unreliable or difficult to maintain or even produce) it does allow for purpose built firearms to bring down large game. When LarsCorp Technologies underwent a new priority shift towards military hardware, they suddenly found their civilian sales suffering, and decided to market the 8 gauge Deacon-12 shotgun at rock-bottom prices and readvertise it as a home defense weapon in order to encourage sales. And just like that, they did. Over 20,000 were sold in the first month, following many more after that, until the Deacon became one of the most common civilian weapons on the shelf, used by hunters, civilians defending their home and even the criminal element. Though it lacks a little in range compared to the Tombstone, its sheer firepower and pellet spread ensures that whatever gets in range goes down in a single blast of buckshot...guarenteed. - T3K Urban: an older, and therefore more common, submachine gun chambered in 10mm, the T3K Urban is often found in the hands of criminal elements, a cheap and reliable weapon even easier to use than the K6 Krukov. As such, it is the favored weapon of gang enforcers and hitmen. Cheap and easy to stamp out of scrap steel, Jackal Arms made this weapon to specialize in close-quarters warfare. Literally a 'bullet-hose', it spits out bullets like nothing else, and even though it possesses a deep fifty-round magazine, its range is abhorridly short. Recently, however, its use in the hands of civilian militias indicates that perhaps a greater amount of gun control is needed...or would be if the more remote areas of the Eridanus system weren't littered with bandits, pirates, krogan remnants and other dangerous clusters. - SKR-9 Threat SMG: though officially labeled a sub-machinegun, the SKR-9 is actually a personal defense weapon, a carbine chambered in 3.5mm rifle rounds. While tiny, these little sabot shredder bullets are excellent use against armored targets, punching through and breaking apart to shred the internal organs. The Threat can best be described as a combination between a submachine-gun and an assault rifle, combining a high rate of fire with good range. Though accuracy suffers slightly compared to rifles, this forty-round magazine is emptied with a good hit ratio. Another thing that adds to its rate of fire and reliability is the lack of moving parts, as the rounds are caseless and triggered with electronic pulses, producing a unique sound and muzzle flash. Heavy Weapons HM21 Wolverine Heavy Machine Gun: while this rather dated design relates back a few centuries, the Forge found very little wrong with it, and kept the weapon as it was. As such, hundreds of heavy machine guns were able to be produced almost instantly, and it can be found in such immense quantities in FDI that they have even been made available for private military use. The Wolverine is chambered in 12.7x108mm, and can be found on everything, from base defenses, scout cars, tanks, dropship door guns and even in the hands of veteran Defenders. This older weapon can put about five hundred palm-sized bullet holes into a target over three miles downrange a minute without overheating. The HM21 almost never jams, a testament to its extreme reliability, a must have under fire. Designed to be able to be belt or magazine-fed, the machine gun has a slight tendency to eject the large casings into nearby infantry, and due to the weight and heat of the metal it has caused many soldiers to be wary around machinegun teams. Though the weapon can get extremely heavy with tripod and gunshield, when stripped of these accessories and other components, it is just shy of man-portable, though one must be of extremely powerful physique to use it effectively without breaking their own wrists. - MGL-86 Voss Grenade Launcher: the Voss is an older 50mm grenade lobbing system, the shells using a low-powder charge instead of electromagnetic rails to fire grenades up and over obstacles, delivering death even to those who think themselves safe behind cover. Giving a rifle squad the firepower to clean out infantry, deal with heavier foes and even take on light vehicles, the role of a grenadier is a unique one, as the Voss can fire many different kinds of rounds, from high-explosive, armor piercing, metal storm, flare, marker, explosive charge, shotgun shell, incendiary. If it can be imagined, it can most likely be fired from the Voss. Sixty years ago, this was what Atkinson Inc. marketed with one of their few weapon designs; though primitive compared to many other more advanced weapons of its kind, the Voss' simple mechanism, cheap price and wide capability beat out many competitors, and it found its way into the hands of mercenaries and militaries alike. Now, FDI use it for the same reason; no one else has made a system better, and it performs just fine right now. The Voss can be reloaded in two ways; either a small swivel cap can be rotated off and each chamber reloaded individually, or a hinge can be opened to eject all six shells at once, fitting a whole rack in. Some Defenders have even traded out their missile launchers for these weapons, especially those in jungle, urban and trenched environments, allowing them to use the launcher for far greater utility. - M-451 Firestorm Flamethrower: made by Eureka originally as a way to battle the vicious plant life on Eridanus II, when the krogan invaded it was found to be an excellent form of anti-infantry warfare, cruel and vicous as it may have been. The Firestorm is a weapon of terror to the extreme, spitting out a comprssed stream of hydrogen and igniting it mid-air. This makes less of a flame and more of a minature explosion, but that works out perfectly in regards to burning out bunkers and breaking up clumps of enemy troops. While its effect against vehicles is limited, the usefulness against all kinds of soft ground targets has seen it fall into the hands of many experianced urban and jungle fighters, to the point that a new subculture of soldier has begun to emerge from among the riflemen and Defenders who carry them. These soldiers have come to be known as Pyros, for their generous love of incendiary weapons. The tank holds enough for about a straight minute of continuous fire, and those soldiers who carry them are more than aware of the volatile nature of the fuel canisters, tending to carry them on their backs. - SR-23 'Annihilator' Missile Launcher: when first developed, the Annihilator was being put to use against human tanks. But when the krogan invaded, there was no doubt about its immediate use, and thankfully these launchers were quickly streaming off the lines. The Forge saw no reason to give it up, as its simple fire-and-forget tracking system can quickly lock on to enemy vehicles and quickly destroy them. Normally, Defenders are issued with two kinds of missiles; a standard hunter-killer armor piercing head with a small blast radious (which can be loaded with three missiles to a cartridge) or a vicious 'Bumblebee' unguided fuel-air rocket that is capable of blowing away anything in a large radius. - RAVEN Chaingun: chambered in an enormous 20mm autocannon round, the RAVEN is a rapid-firing weapon capable of unleashing an enormous stream of high-impact bullets. While the most common variant uses three barrels, the newer Mk. 3 model (most normally mounted on the SHIV sentry drone) uses four barrels. Otherwise, the RAVEN is seen on vehicles, mostly aircraft like gunships, to tear apart lightly armored targets with abandon. Another interesting use of the RAVEN is by Shock Troopers, who sport it like Defenders use light machine guns. This variant, the Mk. 2X, has an underslug railgun mounted below the barrel like the AR-50 XMAC, only its destructive capabilities are equivalent to a Hunter tank's main gun, gutting enemy vehicles and annihilating infantry alike. - Spectrum Anti-Missile Directed Energy Weapon: the Forge's attempts at making energy weapons have produced interesting results, such as the Cherenkov plasma cannon that is used on every starship, as well as Eureka Defense's miniaturized plasma railguns found in the hands of Shock Troopers. Another version commonly found is LarsCorps anti-missile defense laser. While a larger version is used in the ARENA defense matrix fitted on FDI Fleet starships, the smaller Spectrum lasers are used in both vehicular mounts and turret carriages, using a sophisticated tracking system to not only follow but also anticipate incoming enemy projectiles, shooting them down with a single burst of energy. Due to the power requirements, they are forced to stay hooked up to a generator or battery, typically the vehicle's power plant. Its bulk means that it cannot be mounted on smaller vehicles like the Mastiff, but it fits perfectly on the Mammoth and the Gungnir. While fitting a barrel onto the Spectrum does nothing to increase the range, adding focus rings will increase the power of the beam. - K34 Wolfcub Mortar: mortar are relatively simple devices, a simple tube with a bipod. What is important, however, is the shell. Its finned tail is the trigger, launching the 130mm round into the air to angle over obstacles and smash into targets on the other side. The tube is relatively lightweight, and can even be fired without a bipod to stabilise it. The Wolfcub uses a variety of shells, the standard being a conventional high-explosive round, which is quickly being abandoned in favor of the more advanced QT12 cluster round, which slams into the ground and ejects five explosive shells to land around the impact zone. Other rounds include a deuterium tipped armor-piercing shell that can slam through most heavy armor without any effort whatsoever, a chemical shell loaded with any number of agents (the most popular being either nerve or tear gas) a minefield shell that will split into several proximity charges (useful for quickly laying down a minefield) and a fuel-air incendiary shell that can set everything around it on fire. Body Armor Kwolek Combat Vest: The Kwolek Armoured Ballistic Vest, better known as the ABV, is a standard issue self protection body armour in use by . Developed even before the Krogan Wars, the ABV is extremely cheap and easy to manufacture, with a single vest costing less to manufacture than an AR40 assault rifle. As such, it has seen widespread use on all fronts, from standard infantry to engineer corps to even the air force. Even commanders are issued with a tougher version of the vests in case of an unexpected attack. The full set of armor comes with pads for the shoulders, elbows and knees Despite its cost though, the ABV is nothing to be sniffed at. It is made of tightly woven Kwolek, a material which has 5 times the strength-to-weight ratio of steel, yet is extremely flexible and easy to move in. The ABV has little issue with stopping pistol rounds and light submachine gun fire, usually stopping an entire magazine with almost no damage sustained to the wearer, although the wearer will still feel the impact. However, it does struggle against higher power assault rifles and machine guns. In between the two layers of Kwolek is a lightweight titanium chainmesh, designed to reinforce the material and provide protection from blades. However, the ABV was also designed with ceramic plate inserts to increase survivability. With the addition of these plates (one on the front and one in back), the ABV is capable of stopping even light machinegun rounds, or at least until all the ceramic plates break. It also greatly increased survivability against fragmentation grenades and shrapnel from high explosive rounds, giving infantry a fighting chance when faced with HE munitions. Even so, heavy machine gun rounds will shred the ABV and its wearer to pieces, and there is nothing to stop foes from targeting the unprotected limbs. Thus, infantry are still recommended not to go charging headlong into combat, even with the ABV equipped. - Mk. 11 Hurlbat Heavy Carapace Blast Armor: a heavier armor for use by Defenders, the Hurlbat covers the whole body, and uses the same makeup as the ABV. However, it also has a carapace outer shell to give additional protection against both shrapnel and environmental hazards such as fire or acid. Inside the armor, as well, is an undersuit of kinetic blast foam made by Wolfe Industries after initial test runs confirmed that although the armor was surviving the explosions in test runs, the wearer would not. After the foam was implemented, however, survivability shot through the roof, and the heft price tag is worth the cost (three times as much as a Kwolek ABV). For some time during development, however, the weight issue was brought up time and time again, and the Hurlbat almost didn't get to actual production because of this. However, when Wolfe Industries realized that a solution was within reach, they jumped for it. Now, the armor bears an unpowered frame, allowing greater assistance in the carrying of the armor. Though the strain is still great, a Defender is more than able to run, jump and quickly change positions despite the bulk, even though the weight is still an issue. This means that though Defenders can more or less keep up with their lighter counterparts, most have to be at the peak of physical strength to be of any use in combat. - - Juggernaut Powered Armor: for quite some time during the Krogan Wars, the idea seemed cemented that a krogan was physically superior, even against the strong Defenders. Krogan were stronger, tougher, recovered quicker and had redundant systems. It just seemed that, in the evolutionary arms race, humanity had been give the short stick. But, after two years of warfare, the story of a group of industrial workers who held a loading dock with nothing but their loader exoskeletons. The impressive killcount of these men suddenly made the Forge consider the value of servo-powered limbs. It took another two years of frantic development to put armor plating on such a behemoth, but the result was the Juggernaut. Juggernaut armor is a powered exoskeleton, and as such is much more powerful than normal Kwolek body armor. The armour is fully sealed, allowing infantry operate in heavily contaminated environments, such as the poisonous world of Eridanus II. Though it is bulkier and heavier than standard armor, the fact that the Juggernaut is powered and equipped with systems to enhance the wearer's strength, agility, and reflexes make it possible for the wearer to function more effectively in combat than a normal person could, provide a higher degree of protection through the use of heavier but stronger materials and make it possible for the wearer to wield heavy weapons and withstand the recoil generated by them. A soldier equipped with Juggernaut armor would be as powerful as some vehicles in combat. - 'Bulwark' Hardshell Tactical Carapace Armor: there is a level of armored protection between the Kwolek and the Hurlbat, just as protective as the latter but just as flexible and lightweight as the former. Durable and simple to put on, the Bulwark uses an intense and complicated combination of the two armor systems, from the carapace outer shell, the titanium mesh and the kinetic gel insert to make a suit of armor even more intensely advanced than anything else short of Juggernaut plating. Due to its expense and difficulty of manufacture, it is only assigned to commandos and other Special Forces soldiers. The Bulwark evolved from a need to give Commandos a greater form of protection than Kwolek, but experimentations with Hurlbat armor all failed, so a new armor needed to be made. Rather than go to a corporation, FDI Experimental instead developed the project themselves as they had with the Juggernaut, and used the lessons they had learned with the Hurlbat in an effort to cut down on the total weight and bulk of the armor plating while retaining the same protection. After several failed experiments, they finally decided to cut the total plating and increase the amount of underwebbing. Several experiments finally made a breakthrough, however, with a new form of nano-tube webbing. Combined with all the other armor features, and they suddenly had a light suit of body armor with the same protection as a heavy suit. Its cost went through the roof, limiting its use only to Special Forces soldiers. But it was worth it. - Infantry Equipment S90 Oxygen Rebreather: originally produced by Holt Industries, the first rebreather (the S58) was actually a respirator, and not rated for use in combat, and used to come with three individual tanks before oxygen compression technologies developed even further. Now, instead of an actual oxygen tank the S90 uses a filtration system to convert carbon dioxide back into oxygen, and so long as the filter is replaced every twenty-four hours it will work perfectly. The S90 will operate in vacuum, extreme heat and toxic environments. As such it can be found on practically any ship in the Eridanus system, and compared to similar designs it may only come out slightly ahead in performance and reliability, but was one of the first rebreather systems developed in this fashion, so still leads the pioneer role. - GL-20 Underslung Grenade Launcher: sometimes, the addition of a seperate grenade launcher in a squad of soldiers is too inconvenient. Supplies may be low, or the group may be going into close-quarters warfare. In that case, a grenade launcher was made to fit on the AR40, was created with a pump-action load to fire 50mm high-explosive rounds, the same used in the Voss grenade launcher in order to ease logistics. Lightweight and able to be swapped on the fly for different barrel shrouds, the GL-20 comes with a flip-open sight to chart the lobbing range for the launcher, and comes in high-explosive, metal-storm, bean-bag, chemical, armor-piercing and even a close-range shotgun shell. -